TESTIMONIALS

“The caliber of his teaching and the breadth of his knowledge is on par with that of an elite conservatory . . . Andrew takes his, and your, work very seriously and he has a patient, generous spirit that he lends to every student.”

JAQUELINE M

From Yelp

“Andrew Wood’s acting studio is absolutely incredible. I’ve been a student for 28 weeks, and taken three courses — two essential courses and one advanced course, and let me tell you this has been the best experience of my life as a 25-year-old actor in Los Angeles! These courses are a journey into discovering your true acting abilities, with Andrew as your director guiding you towards seeing things you’d struggle to find in yourself during a performance. My favorite part is collaborating with my scene partners! It’s like uncovering new meanings within the script with every interaction!!! In all three courses, my scene partners have been professional and fully engaged! Andrew dedicates substantial time to help you connect with your character and scene partner. Andrew is, hands down, the most phenomenal teacher, director, and person! His experience at Yale School of Drama and his exquisite selection of plays show his deep understanding of literature and performance. In a city filled with dreams, Andrew Wood’s acting studio stands out as a beacon of artistic growth and personal development! Highly recommend!”

PEDRO VIVAS

From Yelp

Andrew is a master teacher, coach, and mentor. His ability to guide you through your scene and develop a deep understanding of your character is impactful. “I took Andrew’s scene study course out of curiosity last year with no prior acting experience and that is where I discovered my love for acting. Since then, I have taken his class two times, begun my journey as an actor through small projects, and now I am enrolled in his Advanced Level Course. With each passing week, I see the improvements in my performance. The best part is being able to witness Andrew’s notes change the energy/dynamic of my classmates’ scene in real time Andrew’s expertise is nothing to overlook. But what makes his acting studio stand out from others is he is truly passionate about the craft – better yet, he truly cares about each of his students. He is the best acting coach in LA and I encourage everyone I run into to sign up for his course!”

RENE ROSA

From Yelp

“As a working actor looking to take my work to another level, I couldn’t be happier with class at Andrew Wood. Since joining five months ago, I’ve booked a national commercial as well as one of my first TV jobs. He’s able to convey powerful insights in a clear and useful way, but also has an impressive ability to identify the individual actor’s needs. I’ve taken a variety of classes in the past, and I sincerely feel this is the only approach I’ve learned in which the fundamentals feel universally applicable to any scene, regardless or the genre or medium. In other words, I never get that feeling of “this stuff only feels useful in certain scenarios.” Thus, the information will apply to an actor of any level. Andrew is patient and attentive towards understanding your thoughts during the scene, and very thorough in his explanations. He’s very friendly, yet in the work, I never get the vibe he’s pandering to the students. It’s very clear from the beginning that he is motivated, before anything else, by making you better. At the end of the day, you want your baseline ability to rise, and I really don’t see how that’s not a possibility in this class. Investing in Andrew’s class has been worthwhile for me.” "

STEVE OLSON

From Yelp

“If you are interested in learning the craft of acting, I can think of no better teacher than Andrew Wood. I have worked with Andrew in both a class setting and privately. The one thing that stands out about Andrew is his genuine desire to teach: it’s not about him, it’s about you. In a position that often affords one the opportunity to exercise self-interest, Andrew unselfishly works with each student to help them address their acting problems both collectively and individually. We are all different and Andrew has a talent for uncovering that which plagues us uniquely and providing an appropriate solution. In addition, Andrew teaches a comprehensive approach to acting that encompasses all of the various concepts in his own style. I found this to be very comforting in that no one approach can possibly address each and every acting problem. I highly recommend Andrew Wood – LA’s next Master Teacher.”

CRIS D'ANNUNZIO

From Yelp

“Andrew’s class is what most Los Angeles Acting classes are not: Technique based rather than self-indulgent emotion based. He teaches actors to take the focus off themselves and onto the other person, to get the other person to give them what they want, to get the other person to feel something. The actor becomes active, and immediately captivating. It’s a rigorous class, filled with readings and big ideas, but it’s grounded in techniques that will set your guts on fire and get you to start really acting , instead of just faking it really well. There is something revolutionary in his technique and it will put you above all other actors in L.A.”

J.B. WATERMAN

Actor

“I’m not one to create profiles for myself on networking sites so you see me going through the bother now for the sole purpose of giving Andrew’s acting classes 5 stars, thereby encouraging anyone and everyone interested in learning a simple yet profound technique for improving the quality of your performance to check out this rich, intense, eye-opening, fun, exhausting, exhilarating experience for yourselves. I’m getting so much out of my first 10-week session that I’ve already signed up for the next and will no doubt keep going after that. I have never seen a group of people progress so much from class to class; Andrew gets stuff out of you that you were never quite sure was in there. I am very picky and cautious about whose hands I will place myself in but after the first class I could tell I’d come to the right place; I felt both challenged and safe–not always a natural combination! If you, as I do, prefer to be taught by an individual rather than an institution, and are looking for that individual to be focused, passionate, surprising, demanding, smart, dedicated, confident and creative, then you may have found him. I’m very much looking forward to going to the next level of my acting with Andrew as my guide.”

LAURA WACHTEL

Actor

“I’ve studied acting for many years in both NY and LA and I’ve tried plenty of different teachers, but I have to say that Andrew is one of the very best I’ve encountered. His classes are the real deal, and I’ve had serious breakthroughs working with him. He includes very solid technique in 10 week cycles during which you focus on one scene from one play. This is great, because it mimics the work you would do if you really booked the role. The classes are small enough that you get plenty of personalized attention, and the scenes he picks are very meaty and great to work on. The 10-week cycles have been great for me because I can jump in whenever I want when it works for my schedule. This is a class for serious actors who are motivated to learn or advance their craft. There’s no b.s. here like you find in a lot of other LA acting classes. He interviews students before they sign up, and from what I’ve seen they’ve all been great scene partners. The classwork is concentrated, so there’s not a lot of room for flakiness. There’s a mix of newbies and working actors which strangely doesn’t seem to make as much difference as I imagined it might. Normally at this stage in my career I wind up in “advanced” classes, but I’ve found that I learn a good deal watching the less experienced actors work with the technique he offers. In a way it again mimics the real world, since you never know what kind of actor you’ll wind up with on a job. I find it helps to just focus on my own work really well. Overall I can’t recommend this class highly enough. I wish I had encountered him before I had to scrub through other more mediocre classes around town. One other thing to note is that cost-wise the class is a huge value for what you get. I’ve definitely found a home here.”

TRAVIS SHAKESPEARE

Actor and Emmy-nominated producer

"“When I read up on Andrew’s course, it sounded like it provided exactly what I wanted – intellectual challenge combined with instruction that clearly and progressively provided me with the tools to embody and improve a solid acting technique. Andrew’s web site is much like his instruction: thorough, no stone unturned, thoughtful, professional, incredibly intelligent, but also encouraging and willing to give you as much help as you’re looking for… At least twice during the course, you will go up in front of class, perform the scene and then work with Andrew for about an hour each time. This is where your preparation is vetted. At the beginning of the course, Andrew shares techniques that will let you know your character, make her human, make her needs visceral. This is not something you wing, but something you invest in, as in sculpting a statue. This part was the real eye-opener for me, both when I went onstage, but sometimes more when I watched my colleagues perform. The most significant factor to one’s performance was how informed they were of their character’s needs and how could one know that if they didn’t know their character’s past, present, and relationship with the other character in the scene? Within minutes of discussion with Andrew, students’ performances improved right before us. That was my proof that the preparation and technique worked…As important to me as intellectual challenge, and learnable, repeatable technique, is a safe, encouraging environment. Having taught before, I know the importance of correcting without judging. You will never hear Andrew say, “You were too quiet.” “You weren’t convincing.” Not only do statements like that make one more self-conscious, but they also don’t help. Andrew has an incredible ability to pinpoint exactly what needs working on without making you feel attacked or defensive. This was the first performance class I’ve had where I was excited about having my performance picked apart because I knew I was in good hands. I knew whatever Andrew said, it would be helpful, intelligent, and spot-on. Everyone’s performance improved because of his instruction. It’s rare to find this caliber of teaching in any field, in any institution. I plan on taking his class again as soon as I can.”"

ADRIENNE BISCHOFF

Actor